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Barbarian Head Dumplings? The Mantou/Baozi
Growing up my family used to go to Windsor, Canada for dim sum (a traditional Chinese meal made up of small plates of dumplings and other snack dishes, usually accompanied by tea). About…
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Arancini and Cultural Identity in Sicily
Arancini, meaning “little oranges,” are fried rice balls with various fillings, both savory and sweet. They originated during the Islamic era of Sicily when North Africans controlled the island and parts of the…
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Greek Moussaka and the History of Eggplants
Moussaka (or musaka, or musakka) is “a meat and vegetable stew, originally made from sliced aubergine [eggplant], meat and tomatoes, and preferably cooked in an oven.” Moussaka is a flexible dish, versions of…
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Pickles of the World
“Heaven knows, a civilized life is impossible without salt”–Pliny I recently realized I am very behind in posting! Work has been very busy, as it usually is in the summer. So, I thought…
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Polynesia and the Peopling of the Pacific
To celebrate Polynesia I decided to make Poisson Cru (a Tahitian ceviche) and Faikakai Malimali (A Tonga sweet dumplings served with coconut syrup). Both of these dishes are common in Polynesia and represent…
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The Three Sisters: Green Chile Stew and Frybread
For this post, I decided to journey to the Four Corners. The four corners references where the states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. Archaeologically, this is an amazing region. In…
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Brazil: Moqueca and Pão de queijo
Last year I learned how to make moqueca, a Brazilian seafood stew from the Bahia region. This May cold snap in Colorado made me crave something warm, so I decided to re-visit this…
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Oktoberfest
I traveled to Berlin a while back and got to experience so many wonderful German foods. My trip also coincided with the start of Oktoberfest, a two-festival traditionally held through the first Sunday…
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Theriac-the “cure” for the disease
We are all bound thither; we are hastening to the same common goal. Black death calls all things under the sway of its laws. -Ovid *Disclaimer-this is about a historical preventative and curative…
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A New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake
Versions of the famous King Cake, a circular shaped, cinnamon pastry, filled with cream, praline, cream cheese, or other sweet confections, covered in frosting and then decorated with purple, green, and gold sugar,…
